Michigan Hockey: Rookie Recap

Since it's a slow day today, here is a look at how each player from the 2010-2011 hockey team did during their respective NHL/ECHL/CHL seasons.

Carl Hagelin:

Team-League

GP

Scoring Line

PIMS

+/-

Connecticut Whale (AHL)

17

7-6-13

6

+12

New York Rangers (NHL)

64

14-24-38

24

+21

Everyone is familiar with the success Carl had in his first season with the Rangers. Carl fit in well alongside Richards and Gaborik despite all three having similar skill sets, and provided a much needed scoring option for a Rangers club that at times struggles to score goals.

Louie Caporusso:

Team-League

GP

Scoring Line

PIMS

+/-

Elmira Jackles (ECHL)

29

16-16-32

8

+5

Binghamton Senators (AHL)

13

0-0-0

6

-2

Louie spent most of his season in the ECHL and had some pretty good numbers, finishing fifth on the team in scoring. I think he has the skill to eventually play in the NHL, but for right now the ECHL is where he will continue to play at.

Scooter Vaughan:

Team-League

GP

Scoring Line

PIMS

+/-

Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)

20

1-5-6

19

-2

Scooter tried out for San Jose last season as a defenseman, but was cut after breaking his arm. After he signed with Wheeling he played twenty games before another injury ended his season for good.

Matt Rust:

Team-League

GP

Scoring Line

PIMS

+/-

Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)

3

0-0-0

0

-4

Scranton Penguins (AHL)

42

4-7-11

14

+2

Rust played almost his entire season with the Baby Pens, finishing with a moderate scoring line. I always loved his work ethic and style of play, which is why I expect a big jump from Rust next season in production. He should have the opportunity to make the NHL club next season as long as Columbus does not trade him.

Brandon Burlon:

Team-League

GP

Scoring Line

PIMS

+/-

Albany Devils (AHL)

56

1-7-8

21

-4

Burlon played all season in Albany and put up ok numbers. They look much worse then they actually are, but a quick look at the Albany roster shows that only a handfull of blueliners finished with a positive +/-. I'm not a close follower of the New Jersey organization so I can't say what his future looks like, but NJ not pushing Merrill to come up tells me that they are confident with what they have.

Chad Langlais:

Team-League

GP

Scoring Line

PIMS

+/-

Dayton Gems (CHL)

43

1-11-12

22

-7

Evansville Icemen (CHL)

24

1-6-7

10

+1

The Ironman started out with Dayton before being traded to Evansville. His stats were decent, but he is going to need to put in work to continue his hockey career in the future.

Bryan Hogan:

Team-League

GP

MIN

GA

GAA

SV

SV%

W-L

Dayton Gems (CHL)

23

1216

71

3.50

630

.899

7-11-5

Wichita Thunder (CHL)

14

790

25

1.90

371

.937

10-3-0

Wichita Thunder Playoffs

1

39

1

1.56

15

.938

0-0-0

Hogan had the best Non-Hagelin season for Michigan rookies. After a shaky start on a not so good Dayton team he was traded to Wichita and exploded. Although he only played fourteen games with the Thunder, his GAA and SV% easily led the CHL. The future looks bright for Hogan.

Ben Winnett:

Team-League

GP

Scoring Line

PIMS

+/-

Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)

1

0-1-1

0

+1

Dayton Gems (CHL)

21

5-4-9

4

-5

Winnett followed most of our 2010 team to Wheeling and then to Dayton. Ben never really took off with Michigan after being drafted in the fourth round by Toronto, but you never know when the switch can come on and a player takes off. The perfect example would be Dustin Gazley, who was a role player for MSU in his four years and was best known for getting jacked by Hunwick. He exploded for Elmira and lead the CHA in scoring after one year.

I'm not saying Ben Winnett will turn into a top six forward but you never know, so it's something to keep an eye on.

Tristin Llewellyn:

Team-League

GP

Scoring Line

PIMS

+/-

2010 Elmira Jackals (ECHL)

33

1-5-6

29

+1

Fort Wayne Komets (CHL)

11

0-1-1

10

+1

Missouri Mavericks (CHL)

33

2-8-10

29

+5

Missouri Mavericks Playoffs

6

1-3-4

4

+5

I included Tristin even though he was not a rookie last season, I figured no one knew what he was up too anyways so I included him. Llewellyn was a pretty good player when he wasn't in the box, which was all the time. He drew the ire of Michigan fans with his knack for bonehead penalties, which usually came at the worst times.

He was kicked off the team for an off-ice incident with Fallon and joined Elmira midseason.

Jacob Fallon:

Team-League

GP

Scoring Line

PIMS

+/-

Indiana Ice (USHL)

58

13-33-46

71

+8

Fallon was kicked off the team in 2010 with Llewllyn, he joined Indiana in the USHL during the 2011 season. Fallon will join the University of Vermont for the 2012 season.

I went to see the Indiana Ice @ Muskegon back around Christmas and it was bothering me all game because Jacob Fallon sounded like such a familiar name and I couldn't put my finger on it. Took me till the 3rd period to remember that he used to play for us and was booted with Llewellyn. Fallon actually looked really good with Indiana, but Muskegon is also terrible so probably not too much to take away from that

I was reading College Hockey News's article looking at the firing of the head of Xollege Hockey Inc., and it was talking about places that should bid for the frozen four. I couldn't help but notice that they didn't mention Detroit, which would be, in my completely unbiased opinion, a great choice based on their criteria (NHL team, no NBA team sharing the arena, hokcey hotbed, etc.). Is there some reason for this that I'm not aware of or is there a conspiracy to keep the FF as far away from Michigan's campus as possible?

I'm not surprised to see Carl Hagelin on the top of the list, I've followed his evolution and he never disappointed me. My friends and I would go to the hockey pool to see him play every time we had the chance and we enjoyed every single game!